This invention relates generally to palletized trucking systems and more particularly concerns locking devices for securing pallets on a truck chassis.
Truck pallet systems in which pallets mounted on a truck chassis form the truck bed are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,934,926, 3,993,343 and 3,993,344 issued to Bennett.
One problem with known truck pallet systems is that the latching mechanisms used to secure the pallets to the truck chassis are mounted on the pallets. Consequently, each pallet must have at least two latching mechanisms permanently mounted on it. This tremendously increases the cost of the system.
Another problem with present latching mechanisms is that they utilize a spring-loaded horizontal pin which slides into a hole on the truck frame to prevent the pallet from moving vertically in relation to the truck frame. Accurate alignment of the pin with the hole during the fork lift pallet loading process is a difficult maneuver at best. It often is necessary to realign the pallet on the truck chassis manually with a crow bar in order to bring the pins into alignment with the holes. As a result, the pins are often bent or the latching mechanism otherwise damaged, rendering the pallet unusable until the latching mechanism can be repaired or replaced.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a truck pallet latching device which is mountable on the truck chassis rather than on the pallet. Another object of this invention is to provide a truck pallet latching device which is functional over a greater pallet alignment tolerance range than is presently experienced. A further object of this invention is to provide a truck pallet latching device which automatically secures and releases the pallet to and from the truck chassis during mounting and dismounting thereof by a forklift.